How 2014 Turnout Data May Fit Into NC Voting Lawsuits

Participation: Total votes from identified demographic. Proportion: Demographic as a percentage of all votes cast. Turnout: Percentage of registered voters who participated from identified demographic .

Credit N.C. Board of Elections

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A federal appeals court ruled in October that some North Carolina voting changes would result in irreparable harm to African-Americans. The U.S. Supreme Court overruled, and allowed the changes to be part of this year's elections. Now lawyers involved in the ongoing case have new data to work with – the state Board of Elections released a final breakdown of turnout Tuesday.

The turnout percentage for all North Carolina voters basically held steady compared to the last midterm election. State Board of Elections spokesman Josh Lawson says when you look at race, "We are seeing more and more folks in different demographic groups making their way to the polls."

About 42 percent of African-American voters turned out this year. That's a slight increase – about 2 percent higher – than in 2010.

"We were monitoring this specifically because we want to make sure that voters are adapting well to the new set of laws that are being put in place," Lawson said.

Republican state lawmakers passed sweeping changes a year ago. They cut the early voting period by a week, eliminated same-day registration, and stopped counting ballots cast in the wrong precinct.

The U.S. Justice Department, the League of Women Voters and others sued, saying the changes are discriminatory because African-Americans disproportionately rely on those kinds of things.

Attorney Allison Riggs represents the League of Women Voters.

"The trajectory over time in North Carolina has been increased participation, not holding steady participation," she says.

"Holding steady" is how Riggs describes the roughly 2 percent increase in African-American turnout. African-Americans had increased their participation rates dramatically over the past few presidential elections, relying heavily on early voting and same-day registration.

"We think the question on turnout is not 2014 compared to 2010, but what would 2014 have been like but for these laws that we're challenging," Riggs says.

She says the turnout data will certainly be part of the arguments in the case, but she emphasizes it's just one piece of the puzzle.

So far, the Supreme Court and lower courts have only weighed in on whether to put the changes on hold as the case plays out. This July, the full trial is scheduled in Winston-Salem. It'll include arguments over photo ID, which North Carolina will start requiring voters to show in 2016.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that North Carolina can move forward with voting restrictions this November. The court is effectively nullifying an appeals court ruling last week that said parts of North Carolina's election overhaul would cause African-Americans irreparable harm this November. It's the latest step – but not the last – in lawsuits against the overhaul Republicans passed last year.

Federal appeals court judges ruled Wednesday the U.S. Justice Department is likely to succeed in its argument that North Carolina's election overhaul will deny or curtail African-Americans' right to vote. The appeals court ordered North Carolina to put some changes on hold this November. WFAE's Michael Tomsic joins us now to explain why.

A federal judge ruled late Friday against the U.S. Justice Department's request to put some of North Carolina's sweeping election changes on hold. Judge Thomas Schroeder's decision comes about a month after a four-day hearing in Winston-Salem, in which the Justice Department, the NAACP and other plaintiffs said the changes will deny or curtail African-Americans' right to vote.

The federal government is suing North Carolina over its sweeping new voting law. The Justice Department announced Monday it'll challenge at least four parts of the law that it says will restrict minorities' right to vote.

WFAE's Marshall Terry and Michael Tomsic discuss voting changes that resulted from the North Carolina legislative session that ended recently.

Big changes are coming to North Carolina's election laws. That's what we're focusing on this morning as part of our week-long look at some of the major bills state lawmakers passed this session.

Election experts say North Carolina passed some of the most sweeping voting changes in the country. It's a huge shift from our current election laws, from how many days you'll have to vote, to what you need to bring to cast a ballot to even how you can register. But let's start with when you can vote.